(WXYZ) — A Detroit police officer is now facing charges after he allegedly sent inappropriate text messages to a young girl, officials say.
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office said 37-year-old Earl Raynard Anderson, Jr. was charged with accosting a child for immoral purposes.
The Warren Police Department, which is investigating the case, said the 12-year-old's parent alerted police to the alleged sexually explicit text messages in February. Officials say Anderson sent multiple messages to the child late at night and in the early morning. According to police, Anderson deleted the messages and reportedly told the victim to do the same, but investigators were able to recover them.
“The messages that were observed between Mr. Anderson and this 12-year-old child are inappropriate. They are sexualized in nature,” Warren Police Detective John Talos said.
Anderson, police say, is married to the victim's mother, and was taken into custody on March 3.
"The safety and well-being of our children is our top priority. We should be able to trust police officers to protect our children, not prey on them. These charges reflect our commitment to holding offenders accountable, no matter their position, and ensuring justice for the most vulnerable members of our community," Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a statement.
Anderson was arraigned in 37th Warren District Court on Tuesday. His bond was set at $200,000 cash/surety.
“We want the community to know to make sure the parents are monitoring, making sure that they are looking at their children’s social media accounts, text messages, internet searches — these areas where people like this tend to try to prey on children to gain access to them,” Talos said.
Detroit police confirm that Anderson has been suspended from duty.
“We immediately changed his duty status and put him on admin duty until we could obtain more information. Once we learned of the charges were issued yesterday, we immediately suspended him,” Detroit Police Cmdr. Michael McGinnis said.
Anderson is a two-year veteran, the department said.
“I wear the Detroit police uniform. I am very proud to be a Detroit police officer. We have a very high standard of conduct. He’s, from what I’ve read, has tarnished our appearance and he in no way represents the vast majority of Detroit police.”
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said he is working to remove Anderson from the department's payroll.
“These allegations are concerning. Troubling to be exact. Because the alleged crime occurred in the city of Warren, the Warren Police Department has taken the lead on the investigation. Pursuant to DPD’s policy, our Internal Affairs Unit is conducting a parallel administrative investigation. Earlier today I suspended Officer Anderson from duty. Next, I will submit paperwork to the Board of Police Commissioners to remove Officer Anderson from our department payroll,” said DPD Chief Todd Bettison in a statement.
Anderson's neighbors said they were shocked to hear about the allegations.
“It’s scary because I have two daughters that live next door,” Brittany Watson said.
Anyone with information in this case or potential additional victims in Warren is urged to contact Detective Talos at 586-574-4816 or jtalos@warrenpd.org.
